If that sounds audacious for a 20-year-old who released his debut album March 2, you don’t know enough about Derulo.

That self-titled debut has produced two pop/R&B hits — “Whatcha Say” and “In My Head” — that sold a total of 4 million copies and made him the first male solo artist in history to have his first two singles hit No. 1. A third single, “Riding Solo,” topped Billboard’s Pop Songs chart.

Derulo also wrote Iyaz’s chart-topping “Replay,” as well as songs for Sean Kingston, Diddy and Danity Kane.

Before Derulo starts that solo tour in August in the United Kingdom, he headlines B104 Night at Allentown’s Mayfair festival on Friday.

In a telephone call this week from Ohio, he talked about his past, his future and his success. Here’s a transcript of the call:

Are you doing radio shows right now? You’re not really on tour, right?

And let me build on that by saying you’ve really had amazing success so far. “Riding Solo” now is the third hit song from your album. Your album is doing extremely well, Top 10. Tell what it feels like to have such success right out of the gate.

“Well, it’s an amazing feeling. I’ve been working toward it my whole life. It’s definitely not something I picked up yesterday, you know?I started when I was 5 years old. And the fact that today I am the only male artist in history to have his first two singles go No. 1 is incredible. It’s an amazing feeling. Plus the support has been tremendous. I have my fans to thank for it.”

Yeah, it’s an amazing story. I read that you got your break by writing for other artists. How did that come to be?

“It kind of just fell in my lap, really. I was just writing songs for myself, and I kind of built a name for myself in the Miami circuit. And somebody was just looking for a songwriter and I just happened to be there [Laughs]. So it fell in my lap and I got one placement and one led into two, you know. And it just snowballs like that.” (Continued)

JASON DERULO, with Iyaz, Charice and Sandlot Heroes, 8 p.m. Friday, Cabaret Stage, Mayfair Festival of the Arts, Cedar Beach, Hamilton and Ott streets, Allentown; free with festival admission of $10 pass good for entire festival or $5 single day (ree, ages 10 and under and military personnel with valid ID), Info: www.mayfairfestival.org, 610-437-6900.

I also read that you were the winner of the Showtime at the Apollo competition. Was that at the same time?

“Yeah, it was simultaneously; around the same time.”

So obviously your intention was to be a performer all along.

“Oh, all along, yes. I never wanted to be a songwriter; it just kind of fell in my lap and I worked my way in. Everybody has their journey, and that was mine.”

It speaks pretty well that you can fall into something as prestigious as songwriting – that even though it’s not the thing that you want to focus on, you still were good enough that you were able to make a career out of it for a while.

“Yeah, I think that it’s the fact that I can write so many different kinds of things. I’m a music lover and I love so many differentkinds of music, so I can really adapt to any genre.”

I’m going to go along with that thought. I’ve read that you said that you don’t want to be seen only as an R&B artist, and that you want to have a broader appeal. Where does that come from? That your music interests are so diverse?

“I don’t know. I don’t know. I mean, I guess everyone had their tastes and I like to dibble and dabble in everything. I studied music my whole life, so I like so many different kinds of music. I didn’t have a choice – in class we just exposed to everything, and I fell in love with everything. It was never boring for me, never a dull moment, because I was in love with classical music, in love with jazz. I’m in love with rock music, I’m in love with country. They’re all great in their own ways, and I want to dibble and dabble in all of them, ‘cause they’re all great for different reasons.”

I also read that you formally studied theatre and opera and ballet and all of that, right?

“Yup, yes. My whole life.”

So tell me about that – you’re a son of immigrant parents. How does somebody find the fortitude or ability to make that happen for themselves?

“Well, my parents were very, very supportive. My parents – I wasn’t raised poor or anything; my mom and my dad do very, very well for themselves. And I was raised in a very loving, middle-class family. And they were always supportive of everything I wanted to do.”

Tell me the story of how you hooked up with producer J.R. Rotem.

“Well, I was writing songs for everyone, and he wanted to actually sign me as a songwriter. And we started on Sean Kingston’s next project. I flew up to L.A. to meet him and his team and when I got there, it became more than just songwriting. They saw my look, and they heard me sing and they were like, ‘Wait! Wait a minute – there’s more there.’ But at this point I had already been meeting with a lot of labels. Because of my songwriting, people wanted to know who’s writing these songs. And that’s kind of how things happened. And when I got to L.A., me and J.R. hit if off musically and on a personallevel. So I didn’t leave there without signing as an artist with him as well.”

J.R. his very hot right now. Did you sense that?

“Um, I just knew that he is a real talent – he’s not fluff at all. A lot or producers, when they reach that level, they’ll have guys under them producing most of the records. But he’s the only one that doesn’t do that. He produces all his own records, and he’s a really, really talented guy and he’s multi-talented and he loves different genres, as I do. So we were able to explore different kinds of music on this album and we will do the same for the next.”

You mentioned Sean Kingston. I read that you originally wrote ‘Whatcha Say’ for Sean.

“Yeah [laughs].”

Tell me the story behind that.

“Basically, I just felt, and Beluga Heights, which is J.R.’s label, felt that it was a great song for me to start off, so that’s basically what happened. But initially, I had Sean Kingston in mind.”

And you and Seas worked together on the Iyaz song “Replay.”

“Yes, me, Sean, Iyaz and [Caribbean-R&B duo] Rock City.”

What role did Kara DioGuardi play? Did she have a role in signing you?

“No, she’s actually my an A&R [artists and repertoire representative responsible for talent scouting and overseeing singers’ artistic development]. And she’s just been really, really tremendous in this process. She’s a songwriter, but she never tries to impose on what I’m doing. She trusts me as a singer and she trusts my vision. It’s really, really refreshing to be a new artist and be able to do my own thing.”

So then you got a spot on the tour with Lady Gaga. How did that work out?

“It was great, man. My first tour. Getting acclimated to everything – you can’t really prepare for your own tour in any other way. You have to do a support act – kind of get used to it yourself with someone else. I was getting acclimated to everything, and now a lot of people want me to come on tour with them and I’m ready to do my own thing, though. I don’t want to go on tour with somebodyelse anymore. I’m ready to go out there and perform for my fans. I know it’s really, really early and most people probably do two or three, but I’m cool with one [Laughs].”

Well , it helps that off your first album you already have three hit songs. By the time your tour comes around, who knows what will have happened.

“Yeah, exactly. And I have faith in that. So I’m starting and I’m building my tour. You know, in other places we’re a little further along. Like in the U.K., “Riding Solo” is already number one there. And that’s where we’re starting. And then we’re going to Australia, which is another place that ‘Riding Solo’ is a top song. So I think it’s time – time for me to do my own thing.”

Did you have very much interaction with Gaga? Or was it just sort of watching her from afar?

“Yeah, I had quite a bit of interaction with her. She’s an absolute sweetheart. And she actually said some really, really kind words to me one day. She looked me in the eyes and was like, ‘Jason – I’ve seen a lot of talented people. I’ve worked with a lot of talented people. But I want you to know you are special, and you’re a freaking superstar.”

I read about the MTV movie “Turn The Beat Around” and have to admit I’m not really familiar with it. Did you actually act in that?

“Yeah, I had a small role in the film – I was playing the pop star. I got to play the pop star.”

And you also wrote some music for it?

“I did, yup.”

I also just wanted to ask you briefly about your appearance on “American Idol.” How was that for you?

“Oh, it was great, man – performing in front of millions and millions of people across the world, it was great. I felt like that’s when things really, really kind of changed for me. People actually saw that I’m a real performer and it’s not fluff. So I think that was the transition between being a new artist to actually being an artist that people can connect to and kind of look up to, really. ‘Cause after that, things really, really, really started to change in a lot of ways. And Simon gave me a lot of love, which is really cool, and even off camera, he was like, ‘That’s how you do it, that’s how you do it. Congratulations, man, you are going to be so huge, man. You have no idea.’And I think it was like that for a lot of people. That’s why it was really, really great.The opportunity was awesome, and I appreciate ‘American Idol’ having me.”

I read somewhere that when you were young, you actually told your mother that you were going to be better than Michael Jackson. True story?

“[Laughs] That is a true story. I was 5 years old, but when I saw Michael Jackson for the first time. I was like, ‘I want to be just like Michael Jackson.’ ”

Is that still a goal of yours?

“Ohhh, no. You know, that was a 5-year-old talking about his idol – his icon that he loved. And that’s where it started. It started with the love of Michael Jackson and wanting to be cool like Michael Jackson. But it’s definitely evolved into wanting to change the world, man. I have so many goals and so many aspirations – so much to share with the world that people just have no idea yet. I’m just waiting for time to catch up to my mind.”

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JOHN J. MOSER has been around long enough to have seen the original Ramones in a small club in New Jersey, U2 from the fourth row of a theater and Bob Dylan's born-again tours. But he also has the number for All-American Rejects' Nick Wheeler on his cell phone, wrote the first story ever done on Jack's Mannequin and hung out in Wiz Khalifa's hotel room.

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS

JODI DUCKETT: As The Morning Call's assistant features editor responsible for entertainment, she spends a lot of time surveying the music landscape and sizing up the Valley's festivals and club scene. She's no expert, but enjoys it all — especially artists who resonated in her younger years, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Tracy Chapman, Santana and Joni Mitchell.

KATHY LAUER-WILLIAMS enjoys all types of music, from roots rock and folk to classical and opera. Music has been a constant backdrop to her life since she first sat on the steps listening to her mother’s Broadway LPs when she was 2. Since becoming a mother herself, she has become well-versed on the growing genre of kindie rock and, with her son in tow, can boast she has seen a majority of the current kid’s performers from Dan Zanes to They Might Be Giants.

STEPHANIE SIGAFOOS: A Jersey native raised in Northeast PA, she was reared in a house littered with 8-tracks, 45s and cassette tapes of The Beatles, Elvis, Meatloaf and Billy Joel. She also grew up on the sounds of Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw and can be found traversing the countryside in search of the sounds of a steel guitar. A fan of today's 'new country,' she digs mainstream/country-pop crossovers like Lady Antebellum and Sugarland and other artists that illustrate the genre's diversity.